Margaret Byrne resigns as Sunderland chief executive over Johnson scandal

Margaret Byrne has stepped down from her role as Sunderland chief executive following suggestions that she was aware of Adam Johnson's guilt in the recent child abuse case.

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Byrne tended her resignation to the club on Tuesday, with Sunderland holding the former CEO accountable for an "error of judgement" in the handling of Johnson after his initial charge on March 2, 2015.

The 12-time England international was suspended by the club for two weeks after that date, but it was then lifted after Johnson proclaimed his innocence. He was available for matchday duties up until his guilty pleas of grooming and sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl on Feb. 12, 2016, which resulted in his dismissal by Sunderland.

After Johnson was found guilty of a further charge of sexual activity on March 2, 2016, the club released a statement saying it wasn't aware of his crimes until his pleas at the hearing in February. From the latest statement released this Tuesday, it appears Byrne is partly to blame for allowing Johnson to continue representing the club despite his lack of innocence.

The statement reads:

Sunderland AFC acknowledges that Margaret's intentions have always been to act in the best interests of the club, however it has become clear through our own internal investigations that in this instance decisions have been taken by Margaret in error.

Whilst swift and decisive action was taken to terminate Mr. Johnson’s employment upon his guilty plea, decisions taken prior to this, including the decision not to suspend him for a second time pending the outcome of the trial, were wrong. In light of what has been acknowledged by Margaret as a serious error of judgment on her part, we have undertaken a full review of the club’s decision-making processes to ensure that there can be no such mistakes in the future.

The statement goes on to apologise to the victim in the case, a season ticket holder at the Stadium of Light, before condemning the conduct of Johnson:

"Mr. Johnson lied to the club; he also lied to our fans and they have every right to feel aggrieved by this. Lessons have been learned and we hope that the club and its fans can move forward from this together."

Byrne also added in her own personal statement: "I recognise that, as CEO, my involvement with Mr. Johnson and the decision to allow him to continue to represent Sunderland was a serious mistake."

Johnson is expected to face a jail term of around four to 10 years.